Northwest Notes: Thomas, Korver, Blazers, Harris
Despite coping with injuries and struggling to gain playing time in the past 18 months, Nuggets guard Isaiah Thomas is confident the process will turn around for the better, Marc Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated writes. Thomas, 30, will become an unrestricted free agent in July.
“I’m blessed. I know it’s going to turn at one point,” Thomas told The Undefeated. “I worked too hard for it not to. It’s always been like that in my career. I’ve seen this story before. I’ve seen this page, I’ve seen this chapter, and I know what’s gonna happen in the end. I’m going to take it back to the top, and then people are going to all show that fake love again. That’s all it is.
“It’s just a bump in the road that I hit, and like I’ve said about Nipsey [Hussle], it’s a marathon. You just got to keep running, keep running the race and keep working hard.”
Thomas played just 12 games with the Nuggets this season and 32 total games the season before with Cleveland and Los Angeles, working to get back to full strength after undergoing a major hip surgery last March.
It was just two years ago that he was leading the Celtics to a deep postseason run, cementing himself as one of the top point guards in the league. For Thomas, he hopes to be able to play basketball for several more seasons and extend his career until he turns 40.
“Oh, hell no,” Thomas said when asked if he considered retiring last year. “I’m playing until I’m 40. … I want to play until I can’t no more. For sure.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:
- Jazz guard Kyle Korver is dealing with some concerning knee pain ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 against the Rockets, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Korver, who’s listed as available to play, appeared to cut short a normal shooting workout on Saturday due to the pain. Korver shot 38% from behind-the-arc in 54 games this season with Utah, averaging 20.1 minutes per contest off the bench.
- Joe Freeman of The Oregonian labels five storylines to watch in the Trail Blazers-Thunder series, including how Portland’s new starting five operates. The Blazers appear poised to start Enes Kanter in place of the injured Jusuf Nurkic for the rest of the postseason, with Kanter tallying 20 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks in a Game 1 victory against the Thunder on Sunday.
- Gary Harris could be the “X-Factor” for the Nuggets in their first-round series against the Spurs, Sean Keeler of the Denver Post writes. Harris, a prominent offensive option in Denver’s rotation, finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting in a Game 1 loss to San Antonio on Saturday. The Nuggets need his production to take back homecourt advantage from the Spurs, a talented team led by the likes of DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Southeast Notes: Heat, Walker, Hornets
The Heat missed the playoffs for the third time in the past five years this spring, heading into the offseason with more questions about their roster than answers.
The steady decline in playing time for Hassan Whiteside, potential position change for Justise Winslow and important draft in June are among Miami’s biggest factors to address, and that’s without including Goran Dragic‘s player option decision or Dion Waiters‘ major weight loss goal.
“I would like to continue to grow within that point guard role [next season], but I don’t want the narrative to be between me and Goran, us fighting for that position,” Winslow said, as relayed by David Furones of the Sun Sentinel.
Winslow started at point guard with Dragic sidelined for part of the season, then failed to find a defined role upon his return.
“We’re both unselfish guys, and I’ve learned so much from him. If James Harden and Chris Paul can play together, then I think me and Goran can play together.”
Miami has a strong coaching staff and front office regime capable of turning the ship around, but the absence of future Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade will surely leave a void. The team will look to regroup in the offseason with hopes of contending for the playoffs next year.
“The time without him was different, but I think we showed ourselves that we’re capable,” Heat guard Josh Richardson said of Wade. “We’re all wiser, better basketball players, so I’m excited to see how this summer and everything plays out.”
There’s more today from the Southeast Division:
- The Heat could benefit from waiting one year before striking in free agency, Ira Winderman writes in his mailbag for the Sun Sentinel. Aside from lacking cap space (unless Whiteside and Dragic opt out), Miami could use next season to further develop the likes of Richardson, Winslow, Bam Adebayo and Derrick Jones Jr. before placing a major focus on the open market.
- Frank Urbina of HoopsHype examines the potential landing spots for Hornets guard Kemba Walker, who’s set to enter unrestricted free agency in July. Along with the Hornets, Walker has been linked to the Knicks, Mavericks and Pacers throughout the season. “I have no feeling right now, I don’t know,” Walker said of his impending decision, according to ESPN. “Honestly, I don’t know what to expect. I guess it’s a lot of different emotions bottled up into one. I’m not sure. I don’t know.”
- The Hornets must show Walker how they’re going to win next season and beyond if they hope to re-sign him this summer, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. “I want to win; I want to win,” Walker said during his player interviews. When asked what the Hornets need to do in order to keep him, Walker replied, “They know,” according to Bonnell.
Blake Griffin To Miss Game 1 In Milwaukee
Pistons star Blake Griffin will miss Game 1 of the team’s series against the Bucks on Sunday due to a knee injury, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Griffin will be listed as day-to-day going forward.
“We’ll take this day by day,” Griffin said of his injury last week, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. “I’m not looking forward to a day that’s not right here in front of me.
“I’ll sit with our training staff and whoever else needs to be in on that decision and make that call.”
The Pistons held a 2-5 record during the regular season without Griffin, who tweaked his knee late in the campaign and missed his first game due to the injury on March 30. Head coach Dwane Casey started forward Thon Maker in place of Griffin in most of the games he missed this month.
Detroit will rely heavily on the production of star center Andre Drummond in Griffin’s absence, with the 25-year-old averaging a career-high 17.3 points, 15.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 79 games this past season.
Following Sunday’s Game 1, the Pistons will stay in Milwaukee for Game 2 on Wednesday, then travel home to host Milwaukee for Game 3 on Saturday.
Kansas’ Devon Dotson To Enter NBA Draft
Freshman guard Devon Dotson has submitted paperwork to make himself eligible for the 2019 NBA draft, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Dotson, a 2018 McDonald’s American and the No. 72 overall prospect by ESPN, has made it clear that this decision is in order to gauge the NBA’s interest in him and that he may very well still return to Lawrence next season.
“After careful consideration with my family and coaches, I have decided to test the waters and enter into the 2019 NBA draft process.” Dotson told ESPN. “I feel it’s a great opportunity to obtain feedback from NBA personnel… I would like to thank God, my family, coach [Bill] Self, the entire coaching staff and teammates, along with the fans of the University of Kansas for their continued support.”
In his first – and possibly only – season at Kansas, Dotson became the Jayhawks’ starting point guard and averaged 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 32 minutes per game. He was named Third-Team All-Big 12 and to the All-Freshman team. Per Givony, the 19-year-old has outstanding quickness and perimeter defense skills, which should earn him an invite to an NBA combine.
Here are several more NBA draft decisions:
- Markus Howard, G, Marquette (junior), has decided to return to Milwaukee for his senior season with the Golden Eagles (Twitter link via Howard). Howard was ranked the No. 87 overall prospect by Givony on ESPN.
- Brandon Randolph, G, Arizona (sophomore), will enter his name into the 2019 NBA Draft (Instagram link via Randolph).
- Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (freshman), will test the NBA Draft waters, per an official release from the Aggies.
- Keith Braxton, G, St. Francis (PA) (junior), has declared for the 2019 NBA Draft, per an official release from his college program.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Cuban, Cho, Spurs
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni plans to begin the playoffs with a nine-man rotation, but it could evolve depending on matchups, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. While Gerald Green was sidelined with an adductor injury, the second unit consisted primarily of Iman Shumpert, Danuel House and Austin Rivers. However, Green saw extended action in the season finale, while Shumpert never entered the game.
“I guess,” D’Antoni said when asked about a nine-man rotation, “but that could be 10 halfway through the second quarter. I don’t know. In my mind we’re going to go a certain way and then read the game a little bit. Hopefully everybody’s ready to go. I want everybody to be ready and everybody will be called upon at some point. Hopefully, it’s a long playoff. Every game will have a different challenge. Everybody’s got to be ready. I don’t think anything will always be set in stone.”
There’s more news from the Southwest Division:
- Mark Cuban will try to re-sign most of the Mavericks‘ free agents this summer, according to The Dallas Morning News. Cuban discussed his plans in a radio interview this week in which he compared the current roster to the teams Dirk Nowitzki had earlier in his career. “I see the same type of future for this team with Luka [Doncic] and KP [Kristaps Porzingis] and bringing back our other guys,” Cuban said. “We’ll extend Dwight Powell and keep him around for another three years. We think we’ve got a great core – and probably bring back Maxi [Kleber] and DoDo [Dorian Finney-Smith]. I think we can add a free agent, we’ll keep our guys for the most part, we’ll see what happens in the draft, see what’s available to us and go from there. If Luka and KP are the workers I think they are or know they are, then the future’s really good. It’s really bright.”
- Former Hornets GM Rich Cho could be in line for a “major post” in the Grizzlies‘ rebuilt front office, NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence tweets. Cho has been out of the league since being let go by Charlotte in February of 2018.
- Michael C. Wright of ESPN takes a look at the Spurs‘ player development system that has helped the organization make playoff trips for more than two decades.
Knicks Notes: Roster, Robinson, Durant, Ewing
Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson and Damyean Dotson are the only current Knicks who should definitely be on the roster next season, writes Steve Popper of Newsday. Knox showed enough promise at age 19 to hold onto, Robinson was a second-round surprise who became the league’s second-best shot blocker and Dotson is a part-time starter with an affordable contract.
Popper lists Dennis Smith Jr., who was acquired in the Kristaps Porzingis trade, as a question mark, noting that his fate could depend on whether the Knicks are in position to draft Ja Morant or sign Kyrie Irving or Kemba Walker in free agency. Also questionable to return, according to Popper, are Frank Ntilikina, Allonzo Trier, Lance Thomas and Luke Kornet. Popper expects the rest of the roster to be overturned, including DeAndre Jordan, whom he speculates will be too pricey to re-sign as a back-up center.
There’s more today from New York:
- Coach David Fizdale believes Robinson would be a lottery pick if last year’s draft were redone, relays Chris Iseman of NorthJersey.com. Fizdale admits he didn’t know much about Robinson when the Knicks grabbed him with the 36th pick, but he quickly blossomed into a force in the middle, swatting 2.44 shots per game. “I think we can all agree if we had to restructure the draft right now, I don’t think he’ll go 36,” Fizdale said. “I think he’d be in that top 10 pretty easily.”
- LeBron James‘ disappointing first year with the Lakers should make Kevin Durant think twice about whether he wants join the Knicks, states Frank Isola of The Athletic. For all of Durant’s talent, he has a reputation as a highly sensitive player who might not adjust well to the atmosphere in New York. Isola suggests that he will only consider the Knicks if he can find another top-level free agent to join him.
- Fizdale played a pivotal role in easing tensions between Patrick Ewing and the Knicks after years of a strained relationship, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. Ewing will represent the team at next month’s draft lottery.
Cavs To Interview Juwan Howard, Jamahl Mosley, Others
1:32pm: The Cavs also plan to interview Utah’s Alex Jensen and Portland’s David Vanterpool when their teams are done with the playoffs, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).
12:55pm: Heat assistant Juwan Howard and Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley will be the first two candidates to interview for the Cavaliers‘ head coaching job, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Both interviews are expected this week.
Cavs GM Koby Altman plans to go through a long list of candidates before hiring a replacement for Larry Drew, Woj adds. The team will start with assistant coaches on teams that didn’t reach the playoffs.
Howard has been part of Erik Spoelstra’s staff in Miami since retiring from the NBA in 2013. Mosley was an assistant in Cleveland for four seasons before leaving for Denver in 2014.
Cavs Notes: Smith, Coaching Search, Expiring Deals, Draft
Cavaliers GM Koby Altman told reporters Friday that he has already been contacted by a team interested in trading for J.R. Smith, relays Joe Vardon of The Athletic. The interest isn’t so much in Smith as a player – he parted ways with the team in November and only appeared in 11 games this season – but in his contract, which is valued at $14.72MM but carries only a $3.87MM guarantee.
[RELATED: Why J.R. Smith May (Or May Not) Be A Valuable Offseason Trade Chip]
A team looking to unload salary could deal for Smith and be on the hook for just $1.29MM annually if he is waived and stretched over three seasons. The Cavaliers showed a willingness this year to take on unwanted contracts in exchange for draft picks, trading for Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss, Matthew Dellavedova and Nik Stauskas.
“We are actually the only team in the NBA that can provide guaranteed cap relief from teams or salary relief until July 1,” Altman said. “We can guarantee that right now and we actually had a phone call yesterday on that (Smith) trade chip, so, we’re going to keep on being aggressive adding those assets because we do eventually want to consolidate and be really good at some point.”
There’s more from Cleveland, all courtesy of Vardon:
- Altman promised an “open-minded” approach to the team’s coaching search and brought up the possibility of making history by hiring a woman for the job. Though he couldn’t mention her by name because she’s under contract, Spurs assistant Becky Hammon is an obvious candidate if Altman wants a female coach. Hammon interviewed for the Bucks’ head-coaching job last year, ran the Spurs’ summer league team and has a player development background, which Vardon states is important to the Cavaliers.
- Other coaching possibilities that Cavs players mentioned to Vardon include the Nets’ Bret Brielmaier, the Mavericks’ Jamahl Mosley and the Trail Blazers’ Nate Tibbetts. All three have previous experience in Cleveland. Altman said interviews will begin soon with candidates whose teams aren’t in the playoffs.
- The Cavaliers believe their expiring contracts for next season might generate some interest on the trade market this summer. Knight and Dellavedova will both be free agents in 2020, along with John Henson, Jordan Clarkson and Tristan Thompson.
- Cleveland won a tiebreaker with the Suns for second place in the draft order heading into next month’s lottery. If they Cavs do wind up with the No. 2 pick, Vardon notes, their view of what type of player Collin Sexton will develop into may determine whether they opt for a point guard in Ja Morant or a wing player in R.J. Barrett.
Lakers Assistant Mark Madsen Takes College Job
Assistant Mark Madsen won’t be around to work with the Lakers‘ next coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that Madsen has accepted a job as head coach at Utah Valley University.
Madsen, 43, joined the Lakers’ staff in 2014 as an assistant to Byron Scott. After a 10-year NBA career, Madsen became a G League assistant in Utah in 2012 and was named head coach of the Lakers’ affiliate a year later.
There’s no word yet on what might happen to the rest of the Lakers’ staff after head coach Luke Walton agreed to part ways with the team on Friday.
Celtics Notes: Irving, Davis, Hayward, Smart
A difficult regular season hasn’t affected the Celtics‘ commitment to Kyrie Irving, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Irving promised Boston fans in October that he would re-sign with the the team, but his resolve seemed to waiver as losses piled up during the season. He also made a series of public comments about how difficult it is to be a veteran leader on a young team.
Despite the ups and downs of the season, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the organization hasn’t given any thought to letting Irving leave and turning the offense over to Terry Rozier. Ainge also believes the postseason will give Irving a fresh start.
“I don’t think free agency is wearing on him,” Ainge said. “I think that not being able to live up to expectations as a team is wearing on him more than that. But I feel like he’s in a good place. And ending the season and starting the playoffs I feel like his mind is in a fresher place than it was a few weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to great things with Kyrie.”
Beyond his talents, another motivation for the Celtics to keep Irving is his friendship with the Pelicans’ Anthony Davis. Boston is hoping to trade for Davis this summer and would have a better chance of signing him to a long-term deal if Irving is still around.
There’s more Celtics news this morning:
- Gordon Hayward finished strong after a trying season that saw him struggle to rebuild his game in the wake of last year’s severe ankle injury, notes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Over the last seven games, Hayward has averaged 16.9 PPG while shooting 62% from the field. Teammates and management have been impressed by the way he has handled the challenges. “From the first day of training camp, he’s played the right way,” Ainge said. “Through all of his adversity, he has, and I mean, that’s leadership. That’s great leadership showing, and people notice that. It doesn’t do that much good to talk about it, but Gordon, by his example, has shown great leadership.”
- Celtics fans shouldn’t expect to see Marcus Smart for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Smart is projected to miss 4 to 6 weeks with a torn left oblique, but coach Brad Stevens calls that timeline “aggressive,” based on what he has heard from team doctors.
- With six players either headed toward free agency or having the ability to opt out of their contracts, the Celtics know this could be their last shot at a title with their current roster, observes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.